Chapter 186: Breaking Through Yet Again

Whoosh!

The long blade made of flame roared as it split through the air’s resistance. Its scorching heat spread in all directions as it flash-struck towards the Giant’s neck.

Gao Jing, who had thrown the slash, had just leapt over a dozen meters into the air. Behind him, Totemic Power solidified into phantom wings.

Like a battle angel descending to earth!

Yet this strike, infused with all his strongest might, was blocked by a sudden dark-gold shield that appeared a full four or five meters away from the Giant’s neck.

Thump!

Like a hot knife through tofu, the Flame Blade that could cut through gold and steel smashed hard onto the shield’s surface, leaving only a scar a few centimeters deep.

Sparks flew in a blinding shower.

Despite his most certain strike being completely blocked, Gao Jing wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Using the force rebounding from the Flame Blade, he instantly adjusted the angle of his phantom wings and in a flash, circled to the Giant’s back. With a powerful thrust, he stabbed viciously at his opponent’s neck!

But that same dark-gold shield, which had just foiled his efforts, manifested again like a ghost, appearing instantly in front of the Flame Blade once more.

It blocked Gao Jing’s follow-up attack too!

Sssskkt~

Gao Jing’s body was now dropping. The part of the Flame Blade striking the shield scraped downwards along its surface.

And the shield stretched, elongating as it moved, not giving him the slightest chance!

Gao Jing landed on the ground.

He stumbled back several steps. The flames swirling around his right arm quickly dispersed.

He let out a long exhale.

“Hah.”

The Giant turned around and sat cross-legged on the spot. Smiling, he asked, “Out of gas already?”

This Giant was none other than Shan Tai.

It had been almost half a month since the New Year passed.

Outside the valley, the climate had grown even colder instead. The Wilderness was blanketed in thick snow and ice, with almost no signs of animal life anywhere.

The Shan Yue Giants were all holed up inside the village fort, waiting for spring’s arrival.

But even during the coldest times, some still insisted on diligent training.

These days, Shan Tai came to Ten-Mile Slope every single day to spar with Gao Jing.

Though ‘sparring’ wasn’t quite accurate – it was more like he was being a practice dummy.

A giant-sized training tool!

For nearly half an hour just now, Gao Jing had launched a ferocious continuous assault around Shan Tai. Shan Tai simply blocked using only a shield condensed from his Battle Qi.

“Yeah. Gone.”

Gao Jing panted heavily as he answered.

Going all out in sustained combat had not only drained his physical strength tremendously, but the Totemic Power and Battle Qi stored within his Crimson Python Rune had also bottomed out, unable to support him any longer.

Shan Tai simply shrugged, looking genuinely impressed. “Your improvement speed is terrifying.”

His daily practice bouts with Gao Jing hadn’t just started after the New Year.

Back at the beginning, if Gao Jing unleashed his Totem Combat Arts and attacked with all his power, he could only hold out for half a quarter-hour at most.

Now, that time had increased four to fivefold!

As a Great Totem Warrior, Shan Tai understood deeply just how scary Gao Jing’s innate talent for martial arts truly was!

Gao Jing shook his head.

Shan Tai marveled at his high talent, but Gao Jing himself had witnessed the vast gap between them time and time again.

In the earlier fight, Gao Jing felt like a furious rabbit facing an elephant. No matter how he butted heads, bit, or kicked, using every ounce of his strength and technique, nothing he did could budge his opponent an inch.

Shan Tai, using merely one-tenth of his strength to form his Battle Shield, blocked his strongest attacks with utter ease.

The elephant could just laugh it off.

Of course, seeing the gap didn’t mean Gao Jing lost his fighting spirit.

On the contrary, through this kind of sparring, he honed his will and burned away any trace of arrogance or complacency!

Pulling a jar overflowing with bear blood from his Storage Space, he drank its entire contents in one go.

The blood of the Monster Beast, bursting with potent energy, was rapidly absorbed. Refined Totemic Power flooded into the Crimson Python Rune.

This was the last jar of Earth Fury Bear blood Gao Jing possessed.

“Again!”

Stimulated by the Monster Beast blood, a surge of vitality filled his entire body. His physical stamina recovered in a flash.

The Crimson Python Rune shimmered with a bright light, pulsing violently in sync with his heart.

Gao Jing’s fighting intent surged up once more.

His eyes instantly turned crimson!

With an explosive roar, he abruptly activated the Titan Totem on his back. His body swelled at a frightening rate.

Riiip!

The clothes Gao Jing hadn’t had time to remove instantly shredded into scraps. His height shot upwards section by section. In the blink of an eye, he surpassed four meters and charged towards the five-meter limit.

Whoooosh!

Rippling heat waves erupted once again from his massively swollen right arm. This time, it coalesced into a Blade of Flame twice as long as before!

“Try this slash!”

Having completed his giant transformation, Gao Jing roared ferociously and swung his fiery blade down at Shan Tai in front of him.

Just as the Flame Blade swept out, he seemed to hear a shattering sound inside his body, as if something had broken. His power surged violently, shattering through its previous limit!

The blurry flame within the blade shifted from crimson to blazing white-hot, its temperature soaring several times higher!

Facing this strike from Gao Jing, Shan Tai, for the first time, lost his relaxed expression, becoming serious. He raised a palm to shield himself.

A Battle Shield instantly solidified before his open hand.

THWOOMP!

Blade met shield. The incredibly hot flame bit deep into the energy shield, sinking more than half a meter before stopping—just a hair’s breadth from piercing through completely!

The very next instant, the Flame Blade vanished without a trace.

Gao Jing stumbled.

As he regained his footing, his body also shrank rapidly back to its normal size.

His strength had completely run dry once more.

Despite looking rather worn out right then, Shan Tai stared at Gao Jing with undisguised shock. “You… broke through AGAIN?”

Why say ‘again’?

Because right then, at that very instant, Gao Jing had stepped into the realm of a High-tier Totem Warrior!

Shan Tai could scarcely believe it.

Counting carefully—Gao Jing had only begun practicing martial arts in the Shan Yue Village a mere half year ago.

In just half a year, he rose from an ordinary person to a High-tier Totem Warrior!

Shan Tai had never heard of anyone advancing faster than Gao Jing.

Even though he could defeat hundreds of Gao Jing himself, it still felt unbelievable.

“Yes.”

Gao Jing himself was astonished.

He had broken through. Without any preparation, he reached the highest level as a Totem Warrior.

Actually, strictly speaking, it wasn’t half a year since Gao Jing became a High-tier Totem Warrior from an ordinary person.

It was one year.

He trained just as hard in the Primary World.

But one year was still record-breaking. So smooth he could hardly believe it.

Yet Gao Jing’s advancement was undeniable. Shan Tai sensed the tremendous change in his aura.

For Advanced-rank Totem Warriors reaching High-tier Totem Warrior, it was only one small step up.

But the boost in strength and battle power was huge.

Besides gaining access to a second Essence Totem, the “Battle Qi Armor Manifestation” ability of High-tier Totem Warriors meant a quality leap in defense.

Before reaching High-tier Totem Warrior, Totem Warriors and ordinary warriors faced unavoidable attacks relying only on gear and their own toughness.

Advanced-rank Totem Warriors had higher defense due to their Battle Qi.

But it couldn’t compare to true Battle Armor.

Battle Armor could block weapon strikes and shamanic attacks. Its strength depended on the warrior’s own power. Unless the enemy was vastly stronger, the armor rarely shattered from one hit.

Previously, the armor Shan Tai formed with just a tenth of his power couldn’t be cracked by Gao Jing even after thirty minutes of striking at full force.

Now, Gao Jing possessed this ability too!

Shan Tai laughed. “Congratulations.”

He was genuinely happy for Gao Jing.

“Thank you.”

Gao Jing snapped out of his daze, suddenly realizing he was completely naked except for stretchy shorts.

He hurriedly took out fresh clothes from his Storage Space and changed.

Shan Tai chuckled loudly, waving a hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to see the Shaman Chief.”

“What?”

When Shan Yan saw them and learned Gao Jing had broken through again, he nearly dropped his pipe.

His common sense felt overturned once more.

Luckily, the Old Shaman had built up some resistance to Gao Jing’s startling feats.

After recovering from the shock, he sent Shan Tai back and asked Gao Jing to stay for a private talk.

“What intentions do you have now?”

Elder Shaman Shan Yan asked. “Do you still want to become a Shaman?”

With such incredible natural talent, if Gao Jing focused purely on combat training, reaching Legend wasn’t even a fantasy!

Above High-tier Totem Grand Warrior…

was the level of Legendary Warrior.

Legendary Warriors were those strong enough to be on par with Grand Shamans!

“Absolutely!”

Gao Jing answered without hesitation—magic masters were the most awesome.

He hadn’t forgotten his original goal.

“Alright,”

Old Shaman Shan Yan nodded slowly. “You now have two choices.”